Wednesday, July 30, 2008

A recent comment asked for the contact information of those responsible for the NYC carriage industry.

First of all - please sign the petition to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC if you have not done so already - click here.

It is always best to send a snail mail letter; a fax is the second choice with e-mail a distant third because they can easily be deleted.

The head of the City Council is Speaker Christine Quinn. Quinn has the power to hold hearings on Intro 658 (the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages) but has chosen to ignore the bill in spite of the tremendous number of calls and letters her office has received.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Please support our fellow activists in Rome in their campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages. Write to the Rome authorities to ask that they ban this industry.

E-mails should be sent to the following:

Public Relations Office of the Mayor -- urp@comune.roma.it Council of the Environment -- ld.ambiente@comune.roma.it The Councilor's Office -- f.delillo@comune.roma.it

Below is a sample letter. Please change it as you see fit so it does not sound "canned."

I am writing in support of the Italian citizens who are asking the Rome City Council to ban the use of horse-drawn carriages. The only way to put an end to mistreatment, accidents, suffering, and death of horses is to ban this "attraction".

It is time for Rome to move into the 21st century and take seriously its moral and ethical responsibility to these sentient beings while ensuring the safety of its citizens. Surely as a civilized society in Italy's capital, you must do no less.

Carriage horses take away from the experience of being in Rome and I vow not to travel to your city until this industry is ended.

We urge Mayor Gianni Alemanno and the Rome City Council to immediately ban all horse-drawn carriages from Rome.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

You gotta love those Italians – they really know how to make things happen!

It was only a week or so ago, when we heard about the Italian animal rights group in Rome – ENPA - calling for a ban of the horse-drawn carriage industry. Activists took to the street giving out fliers to tourists asking them not to take the carriage rides.

Not wasting any time, the Italian parliament has taken up this cause. Our NYC Council, most of whom have no backbone and do whatever Speaker Christine Quinn dictates, are only good at naming streets, giving themselves raises, getting slush fund money for their favorite groups, and collecting a pay check. Pathetic! Quinn has a tight bond with the Queens Democratic party, which got her into power. It is this party that supports the tiny, tiny carriage industry. They can do no wrong Enough said.

The carriage industry in Rome is accused of routinely fleecing customers; illegally working during the hottest period – 1-5 Pm from July to September and generally treating their horses cruelly. Sounds familiar.

Gianni Mancuso, a deputy for the ruling People of Liberty alliance and a veterinary surgeon, demanded to know what the government “intends to do about this scandal.” He claimed that the drivers worked the horses “to death” sending them to slaughter when they were no longer able to work.

ENPA has appealed to the Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, to ban the industry and transform their licenses into taxi licenses.

This is the same issue in every city – especially the large ones – that have a horse carriage trade -- New York, Boston, Chicago, Florence, Philadelphia. Horses are exploited to entertain people. They are literally worked to death – wearing heavy tack, blinders, bits and stuck between the shafts of their carriages for hours on end.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

July and August often bring with them a string of 85 to 90-degree days with high humidity. I can't even STAND in 90-degree weather without being extremely uncomfortable. How do these horses--pulling hundreds and hundreds of pounds of carriage containing up to FIVE mindlessly insensitive people, the horses wearing full harness and bridle and bit, standing in the hot sun for nine hours a day, seven days a week, with their feet on pavement that goes up to 120 degrees--how don't they drop dead???

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

June brings the warm weather, and with it worry on the part of horse protectionists; because we know that with the heat brings immense suffering to the carriage horses. When one adds the humidity to the temperature to create the heat index (the real temperature), horses can be out in full harness pulling many hundreds of pounds of carriage and riders in temperatures of WELL OVER 100 DEGREES!! The horses are beyond miserable: they are in danger of heatstroke, and death.